The Avatar's Apprentice
by AvatarAero
Summary: Zaheer's poison has left her hallucinating. 3 years of separation from her friends has left her empty inside. But that can all change. After saving a young firebender from the clutches of Republic City's gangs, Korra chooses to train the boy in order to overcome her own problems. With inner determination and a little bit of luck, Korra might be able to save herself, with some help.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**This is the third series I've been wanting to make a prologue for. It's the longest prologue, and I think it has the most potential for character interactions and development.**

 **Credit is given where credit is due. The idea for this story was given to me by** core of justice **in a PM. If it wasn't for him, then this series would never have been made.**

 **That said, I hope you enjoy the prologue for _The Avatar's Apprentice_. **

The Avatar's Apprentice

Chapter 0: Prologue

Korra trudged through the streets of Republic City. A bruise was already forming on her eye, a shiner that, from experience, would probably stick around for the next day. She was constantly shifting her bag around on her shoulder, at the exact spot where she was hit by a chunk of rock.

Her limp wasn't helping matters much, either. Thanks to her clumsiness, she had managed to slip during her ring match, leaving her wide open for an attack, that just so happened to put the pressure on her right leg.

Of course, the whole situation would not be complete without the fans of the sport, one in particular the size of a donkey buffalo, who smelled like a month - old clothes wrapped in Pabu's flea - rich fur.

Korra sighed to herself. Even the though of Pabu's disgusting hide couldn't stop her from wishing she was back with her friends. The past three years had been tough on her, but without the comfort of her friends, she had been especially lonely. With the exception of Asami, Korra had no idea about what was going on in Republic City's high branches. What she would give to find out…

Korra jerked out of her daydreams, as she saw someone duck into the alley in front of her. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem to Korra, but this person was wearing suspiciously accurate Water Tribe clothing, and there was nothing Korra wouldn't give - in particular because nothing she had was of any sentimental value - to see someone from her tribe.

She dashed into the alleyway, only to be confronted by a dark figure in front of her, and the slow and methodic clinking of chains. As she stepped forward, so did the shadow, until it seeped out of the darkness and into reality.

Displaying a stark difference between herself and the figure, shadow Korra still had her long hair, Water Tribe armbands, Water Tribe tank top and parka tied around her waist. As Korra looked into her glowing eyes for the hundredth time since leaving the Southern Water Tribe, she wondered if this is what her enemies saw when she entered the Avatar State.

Growling to herself, Korra dropped into a low fighting stance, while her opponent mirrored her actions. Leaning back, Korra delivered a powerful earthbending ripple of the ground, while simultaneously extending her arms and sending a barrage of fireballs at her opponent. A rash move, by any standards. Her opponent seemed to know exactly what she was planning, because even before the ground split apart at her feet, she was already moving.

Korra's quick barrage left her open to attack. With all the time in the world, her opponent sent a wave of water - seemingly from nowhere - right into Korra's torso. She was thrown back into the street, narrowly missing a Satomobile that swerved around her.

Korra looked into the alley. There was no one there. She felt her mud - colored and stained clothing, but it was completely dry. People stopped to gawk and whisper about the crazy girl, as Korra quickly picked up her satchel and hurried down the street.

It was the third time this week. All around town, she could not stop seeing herself in dark alleys, in the corners of her apartment and her dreams. It was like a shadow, not far behind her, always waiting for the perfect opportunity to rear its ugly head.

As Korra ran down the street, she saw a Satomobile screech to a stop ahead of her. Korra did the same, apprehensive about the car, not only because Republic City was filled with gangs, but because her alternate self might have figured out how to operate a motor vehicle.

Thankfully, the car's occupants were not interested in Korra. Rather, they threw open the door and shoved out a child, no more than the age of 13. The other doors then opened, including the driver's side door. A group of adults gathered around the child, all of them with some sort of painful weapon, ranging from a club to a spiked mace.

"G - Get away from me!" The boy punched his fists towards the adults. Shockingly, two bolts of lightning ejected from his hands. However, thanks to his shaking arms, they veered off into the sky, completely missing the bandits.

All 12 eyes followed the lightning as they fizzed out in the twilight sky. The bandits then returned their gaze to the boy. "Nice trick, kid, but my boys here don't like it. Let's see if we can beat out some more sparks," the bandit with the mace growled. As a unit, they advanced on the boy.

"Get away from him!" Korra shouted as she charged the 4 bandits. Stopping about 10 meters away from them, she made an uppercut motion, sending two of the goons flying into the air, propelled by an outcropping of rock. The third bandit advanced, swinging a metal rod Korra's height.

Ducking and dodging, Korra managed to evade two strokes from the giant rod, before going on the offense, repeatedly punching the man with two giant blocks of stone. With one final blow, Korra sent the man tumbling to the ground. Finally, she turned her attention to the last bandit, the one who had verbally threatened the child. However, instead of making a move, she dropped onto one knee, and stared directly into the glowing eyes of herself in the Avatar State.

"What's wrong, girly? Can't handle a few guys at once?" The man snapped. He took his sweet time, strutting with the authority of a king. He planted his feet less than a meter away from Korra. "You're going to learn that nobody around here messes with the Triple Threats!"

Raising the mace around his right shoulder, and towering over Korra, he prepared to swing the gigantic weapon, until the smell of ozone filled the air just as the man was electrocuted. Bellowing, he crumpled to one knee, and then fell face - first onto the asphalt.

Korra looked up, and she saw the boy with his hand outstretched. "That's the last spark I got," he muttered under his breath. Jogging over to Korra, he helped her up. "Thanks for saving me. I don't even know what they wanted with me."

Korra looked at him. About the size and build of Kai when she first met him, the boy bore a strong resemblance to Mako: Brooding, mellow but energetic. They were even both firebenders. "It was no big deal. I would have done the same for anyone," she said offhandedly. "What's your name?"

"Kyon," came the short reply. Korra waited for any more information, but none was forthcoming. "Well, Kyon, if you want, you can come to my apartment. It's the least I can do for saving my life." Instantly, Kyon brightened, and the duo went to Korra's residence.

At Korra's place, Kyon began to eagerly dig into some of the food that Korra left for him. As Korra watched him, she began to sigh. "What's up?" asked Kyon, through a mouthful of food. Korra sighed once more. "It's just that - I remember a time when I would have never been in this position. Now, I'm living in a cramped space that others would be ashamed to live in. It's been a long road from where I've been to where I am now."

Kyon straightened. "I hear you. I've been living on the streets nearly my whole life. Had to beg and steal to get where I am now. I can firebend too, but it's a bit uncontrollable, as you saw outside."

Korra thought for a moment. As much as she could see differences between herself and the boy, the similarities were also becoming more apparent. "I've got a proposition for you: You stay here and help me earn some money, and I'll teach you firebending."

Immediately, Kyon's ears perked at the offer. But he was wary. "Why would you do that for someone you just met? What's in it for you?"

Korra laughed, which almost prompted Kyon to smile as well. "Because you remind me of myself," she explained. "We're both lonely, we're separated from friends and family and we both wish we could go back to a day when everything was right. Besides, I did save your life."

Dumbstruck, Kyon nodded. Korra chuckled again, saying, "All right. We start tomorrow. But for now, let's eat."

THE END

 **Just like _Fire of the Red Lotus,_ I cannot promise a second chapter this week. Unfortunately, between _Kun: The New Avatar, The Desire for Honor_ , and schoolwork, I will have no time.**

 **However, I can ensure that a second chapter for every single one of my stories will appear next week. I hope that everyone who reads this sticks around until the end.**

 **That's all for now, folks. See you next time, on any one of my 4 stories.**


	2. Chapter 1: Lost and Alone

**As promised, this is the first chapter of _The Avatar's Apprentice_. The ending to this one is a lot like what actually happens in _The Legend of Korra_ , but I couldn't think of something better.**

 **Thank you to everyone who helped me get to 50 views on just the prologue. I know it was a pretty long one, but I needed to set the ground work for the first chapter.**

 **Update 11/12/16: Thank you to everyone who helped get _The Avatar's Apprentice_ up to 100 views in just one day. I appreciate all of the support.**

THE AVATAR'S APPRENTICE  
CHAPTER 1: LOST AND ALONE

The night felt like deja vu, and Korra said as much to Kyon. "You know, this is exactly how I felt the night I met you. Thankfully, I feel much better, now that you're with me."

Kyon looked worriedly at Korra. Her right leg was acting up again, which was no wonder since she used it the most in a fight. Her kicking, her defense and her stances all relied on her right leg. And for it to be bruised meant Korra had to change up her game, big - time.

Aside from her limp, she had a nasty cut on her arm, courtesy of a stray pebble that had just enough velocity on it to cut skin. She also had a bruise on her cheek, and a possible broken rib, both of which came from getting hit in the gut multiple times. Safe to say, Korra had not won the match.

Korra and Kyon made it to Korra's apartment. After climbing three flights of steps (which, Korra admits, was not a good choice for a tournament bending fighter), Korra stumbled into her living room and collapsed on her couch.

Kyon went into the kitchen to begin cleaning some dishes. Now that he lived with Korra, he had to carry his own weight. "Just to be clear, you're the Avatar, right?"

Korra lurched out of the confines of her couch and staggered to the kitchen. With a pull of her hand, water began to shoot out of the drain of the sink at a rapid rate. Korra directed it and the soap to splash over all of the dishes, even the ones in Kyon's hand.

Then, will a blast of air, she dried all of the dishes. Moving back to the couch, Korra retorted, "Still not sure?" Kyon grumbled, and used his fire hands to evaporate some of the soap residue in his hair.

Drying off his clothes, Kyon crashed next to Korra on the couch. "The reason I was asking, is because you've saved the world twice. And both times, you've had friends with you. Those guys are just as famous as you. Why aren't they in Republic City with you? And for that matter, why do you need to be fighting in some glorified boxing ring?"

It wasn't the barrage of questions that made Korra flinch, but the open wounds that Korra had been trying to heal for the last 3 years that flared into existence again. Trying to contain tears, she choked out, "They're not around anymore. They kind of, moved on."

Kyon knew when to shut up. Trying to take Korra's mind off of her obviously painful past, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Let's forget about that, all right? What were you teaching me yesterday?"

Korra blinked away tears, and sniffed. She sighed, trying to get the tears out of her ducts and the sobs back into her chest. "All right, I'm good now."

Korra moved the couch to the wall of her apartment, freeing up some space in the center of her apartment. Then, she suddenly stopped. "You know what," she asked, rhetorically. "I think you might be ready for something different. Follow me."

Korra strobe to the door, opening it and wincing her way down the three flights of steps. Kyon, confused, followed her all the way down the stairs and into the empty street. Korra looked to her right and her left, scouting out the dark intersection, before bolting away from the center of Republic City, inland.

Kyon blindly followed her, half trying to understand how she was running so well on her ankle and half thinking she was going crazy. Korra jogged all the way out of the city, down a dirt road and towards the large swamp that bordered the edge of the city. This swamp was not the larger one that resided much father down the cost of the Earth Kingdom, but it was spiritual and very abandoned.

Korra screeched to a halt just on the edge of the swamp, with Kyon in tow. Kyon slowed to a walk as he got closer to Korra, and bent over, breathing heavily. Between inhales, he panted, "Spirits, Korra, how can you run? You were limping down the stairs!"

Korra bounced on the balls of her feet, but Kyon could still see the bruise on her foot. "After a few years of fighting evil benders, you get used to pain," she replied. "Do you know anything about the swamp?"

Kyon shook his head, still unable to breathe from his sprint of over a mile. Korra laughed. "If you want to be able to save yourself from Republic City's gangs, you're going to have to be a little bit more athletic than that."

She turned around to face the swamp. "The swamp is alive, and infused with spiritual energy. It can amplify the powers of benders, and for people who are spiritually in tune, it can grant enlightenment. Many a monk and sage in the days of the airbenders came to this very swamp to meditate for decades. No one's set foot in the swamp in over 30 years."

Kyon straightened up, gazing deep into the swamp. "So what you're saying is, we go into the swamp in order to help me become a better firebender? How do you know this stuff?"

A quizzical look from Korra gave Kyon all he needed to understand. "I told you I had been gone for 3 years. You think I was meeting friends and family in that time?"

They trudged into the swamp, ready to get the spiritual enlightenment they wanted and training they needed.

* * *

"I would like to welcome each and every one of you here to this momentous occasion." A pause. "Republic City, for the last 70 years, has been virtually cut off from outside influence. We have developed our own culture, our own city and our own people through our isolation. But today, we end our lack of communication. The first rail line through the city is opening today, all with the help and funding from Mrs. Sato and Future Industries."

Asami stepped forward into the microphone. Slightly nervous, she tried to appear composed for the thousands of people watching or listening on their radios or televisions. "Thank you all for attending today's occasion, and for listening at home. In order to connect more with the world, we have created this railroad station to do just that. Now, transportation and information will be much faster, especially into the Earth Kingdom."

With a deep breath, Asami handed President Raiko the gigantic scissor and together they cut the ribbon. Everyone in the audience cheered, and the journalists at the front snapped pictures furiously. Once the ceremony was over, Raiko stepped forward to take questions as well as support the idea of an advanced Republic, while Asami backed off into the police envoy to talk to Mako.

Mako broke out of character just enough to give Asami a quick hug. They held each other at arms length, before Asami said quickly, "It's been so long, Mako. Hope you're doing well." Thanking Raava up and down that he didn't have to be the first to respond, Mako replied, "life's been going well, and I can see that it's going well for you too."

Asami brightened up, thankful that the awkwardness has passed. "We should see each other more often. We need to get the old Team Avatar back together. Speaking of which, where's Bolin?"

Mako shrugged. "He's been traveling around the Earth Kingdom, helping Kuvira make a unified country under one leader. That's kind of the reason for the anarchy after the Earth Queen died. We need some kind of leadership over there, and it's really working."

Asami dropped her shoulders, a little disappointed, until Mako piqued her interest once more. "Of course, he will be back for Suyin's coronation as the Earth Queen. And Korra should be back by then, too. So you're right, we will have Team Avatar back again."

Asami squealed, and jumped into Mako once more. Mako was caught off guard, but relaxed into the hug. Asami began to cry, choking out, "Thank you, Mako. Thanks so much."

* * *

Kyon's legs gave out before he got blasted with fire, which, in retrospect, was a good thing. Unfortunately, the pain from his knee was a poor trade off for the heat of the fire against his bare palms, making the split - second decision pretty painful.

"Ahhh!" The yell of pain couldn't be helped, no matter how much Kyon tried. Korra rushed over and examined the joint of Kyon's knee. A small nub on the right side of leg indicated all Korra needed to know. "You dislocated your joint. I can knock it back into place, but you should stay off of it for a while."

Through the pain, Kyon managed to nod quickly, bracing himself for the agony to follow. Korra took a moment for herself and Kun, before wrenching the bone back into place over an arduous 3 seconds. Kyon has his jaw clenched tight and his muscles tensed, but it was over before he knew the pain had come.

Breathing heavily, Korra sat back against a tree, and let Kyon move back until his spine was against another tree trunk, opposite Korra. He breathed heavily, and rested the back of his head against the trunk of the tree. "Where do you get these tricks? I know you weren't traveling for three years; you were supposed to be at the South Pole. So what in the name of the Avatar happened?"

Korra hit her head against the trunk of her own tree, obviously wrestling with herself over whether or not to divulge her personal information. She knew that trusting the kid was too much to ask, but at the same time, there really wasn't another option.

So it was with a resigned sight that Korra began her story.

"Let me start from the beginning. As you've told me, I was poisoned by Zaheer. I spent over 2 and a half years in the Southern Water Tribe, trying to heal from the pain, and trying to walk again. I was confined to a wheelchair for 2 and a half years, Kyon. Do you know what it feels like, as a bender, to be unable to work your art because you can't even move your legs?"

Kyon gestured to his his twisted leg, which was propped up on a moss - covered log. "I have a pretty good idea right now." Korra titled her head forward. "Touché," she conceded.

"Regardless, I spent 2 years trying to walk with all my heart.I've battled bloodbender, the great spirit of darkness Vaatu and the Red Lotus, but I can clearly say that trying to walk was the hardest thing I have ever done. Once I was able to, I decided to go on a journey around the world."

"First I went to the Fire Nation to learn the practices of firebending in greater detail, as well as meet with the great masters Ran and Shaw. The Avatar before me, Avatar Aang, had also met them, and I guess they saw the same potential in myself. It is from them that I learned the true nature of firebending, and that's why I'm able to teach you as well as I can."

"I also went to the swamp in the southern portion of the Earth Kingdom. Like I said earlier, this swamp is just a by product, a corollary, if you will, to the other swamp. It retains spiritual value as well as proximity to the Republic City. I learned from some fantastic swampbenders how to control the chi within the swamp, like this."

Korra raised her hand and concentrated. The tree behind Kyon slowly wrapped some branches around his prostrate torso and lifted him into the air on a hammock. All of a sudden, he was hurled through the air. Trying to keep his knee close to his body, he braced himself for impact. But instead of feeling the wet water of the swamp or the hard ground, he felt soft leaves on his front. He opened his eyes and say a bed of sorts erected out of nowhere.

Korra dropped her hand, and Kyon splashed onto the ground. She chuckled a bit to herself, before moving Kyon back to his position under the tree with some branches, sopping wet. "Back to the story," was all she could say for a few seconds.

"The last place I went to before I came back to Republic City was the Northern Water Tribe. I learned from some of the greatest masters in the world, how to bend water into fantastic shapes, and how to heal."

"Then why on earth aren't you healing me!" Kyon shouted. Korra reddened as she tried to explain. "It's because you need to get used to pain. As a fighter, you need to be able to adjust to being in pain - and still fighting."

A loud groan escaped Kyon. He didn't even know if it was from the pain or from his exasperation. Korra shifted slightly. "I told you everything you need to know about my adventures the past six months. Now, you need to reciprocate."

Kyon groaned again, and this time he knew it was because he had to share his past, which he had told no one. "No. I can't. I swore to myself that I would never say a thing about it, and I won't. I was a kid, and I won't be able to recover." Kyon decided that it was time to go, signified by him straining to stand up.

Korra jumped to her feet and jogged over to Kyon, helping him up. "I guess that the firebending training is over for the day," she joked. "Same time tomorrow?" Kyon nodded, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. Together, they walked out of the swamp and down towards Republic City.

* * *

The massive ship slowly creaked into the docks. Asami was at the front of the small group waiting for Korra's appearance. Among the others were Bolin, who had taken leave from Kuvira's national reunion for a while to see Korra, Mako, who took vacation leave from Beifong for a few days and Tenzin, along with Jinora, Ikki and Meelo.

The ship slowly halted at the end of the dock, and down came some steps out of the hull. Tonraq and Senna were the first to step down, and were immediately assaulted by Tenzin's children. Tonraq laughed a big hearty laugh.

The children moved from him to Senna and Tonraq moved forward to grip Tenzin's hand. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Tenzin? Almost three whole years now." Tenzin smiled, and replied, "Yes, it has. By the way, is Korra on the ship?"

Tonraq looked confused. "Korra? Korra - She left the Southern Water Tribe over 6 months ago to come to Republic City. I was waiting for her here."

As Tenzin and Tonraq both realized at the same that Korra was not in Republic City, they turned with a look of horror towards the rest of the group. They had no idea where in the world the Avatar was.

THE END

 **After you read that, you probably want some brain bleach to remove that from your memory. Luckily, the third chapter of _Kun: The New Avatar_ is coming out tomorrow, so be prepared for that. **

**If you have any stories you want me to write, send me a PM. This is my first story on commission, so I will be open to more suggestions in the future. See you beautiful people later.**


	3. Chapter 2: Kyon's Test

**Welcome everyone to the first story of the new year! Happy New Year from me, the same lazy bum who published no stories for nearly the entire month of December. Just to make up for it, this is the first chapter in 5 that I am uploading this week, and I'm giving it an official name: AvatarAero's 5 Days of Fanon! It's a bad title; I'm kind of known for bad titles.**

 **Regardless, I hope you enjoy this episode of _The Avatar's Apprentice_. Tomorrow, you guys will get to read the newest chapter in _The Desire for Honor_. God, I haven't updated that thing in a while. **

THE AVATAR'S APPRENTICE  
CHAPTER 2: KYON'S TEST

Kyon dug his feet into the slimy weeds of the ground. With difficulty, he slowly moved his weight backwards, until his body was centered over his back leg. Korra performed the same, albeit much quicker. Kyon could feel the calluses on his feet grip the vines below his soles.

The air between them seemed to solidify into tension. Both of them were shaking on the balls of their feet when Korra finally had enough and lunged forward, her fists blazing with fire. Caught of guard, Kyon tried to move his rubbery legs, to little effect, other than him falling flat onto his face and scrambling away as Korra punched the vines.

Quickly getting to his feet, Kyon put his arms up in a cross just as a blast of fire ejected from Korra's fist. Surprisingly, it didn't burn any of Kyon's clothes, nor his skin. Korra stumbled as she got to her feet, bending her knee slightly away from Kyon. It was the time for Kyon to fight back, and he did so with a barrage of attacks directed at her feet.

Korra lost her balance even more, stumbling backwards and tripping over the vines on the ground. Kyon kicked twice, sending large fireballs at her. With two arms outstretched, Kun let out a roar and jettisoned blue flame at Korra. She was so surprised that she fell back, stunned.

Kyon looked at his hands in amazement. "I didn't even know I could do that. I guess if I concentrate hard enough…" Korra tilted her head. "I've never heard of something like this. The last person who had blue fire was Zuko's younger sister, Princess Azula. I guess you're chosen, just like her."

Kun smiled, his tousled hair lying in his face. "Does this mean I've passed?"

Korra rubbed his head with her knuckles, saying, "Sure, why not?" They both gathered their supplies and started walking back to Republic City.

Korra draped her arm around Kyon, playfully knocking him on the side of his head. "Hey!" he protested, but weakly enough that Korra continued. As knuckles dug into his head, Kyon tried to take her mind off of his abuse. "I hear you have a tournament, somewhere?" he awkwardly shoehorned into the conversation.

Either Korra lost her ability to detect a lack of subtlety over her vacation, or she just didn't care, because she answered without any change in her tone. "Yeah. It's over near the Avatar Korra park arena. Really weird that they haven't figured it out yet. I haven't done much but cut my hair."

Kyon took some jabs at Korra this time around. "I certainly wouldn't want to see you with hair. When is it?" he hastily added, lest she decide that he was worth the energy to abuse him. Korra gestured lazily in the air. "Oh, sometime next week. I have to check the details later."

Kyon pried himself from Korra's hands and started to jog down the street. "Let's get you training, then!" Smiling wryly, Korra chased after Kyon down the block, until they got to their apartment, breathing heavily. It was going to be a good week.

* * *

It was not going to be a good week, for Korra or for Kyon.

The only good thing that came out of the first match was Korra's victory. Aside from that, she very nearly broke her leg, bruised her shoulder and took a beating in the match. Had it not been for her knockout blow with some fancy earthbending, she would have been out of the tournament.

Nevertheless, she was in serious pain. From her infinite wealth of knowledge about the swamp, Korra knew that she could heal herself just by staying in the swamp for long enough, but there was no way that Kyon could tend to her for multiple days at a time. So they just spent a few hours each day trying to help Korra out.

Unfortunately, a few days into their makeshift hospital scenario, they ran out of supplies, meaning that Kyon would have to go into the city for some food. The money was not the issue: Since Korra met Kyon, her own bending had gotten better from constant practice, and her prize winnings were enough for her and Kyon to live happily. But the numerous gangs that Korra was worried Kyon couldn't be able to defeat.

On the morning of the seventh day after Korra fought her first match, she had had enough. "All right, look here Kyon," Korra yelled. Although her body was banged up, her vocal cords worked just fine. Unfortunately for Kyon, that is.

"I've been eating the same bland stuff for the past 4 days. Now, I've trained with you for the past 3 months. Now, if I say that you can get out there and get me some food, then you can. So get your butt out there!"

Groaning, Kyon stumbled to the door. Even bruised, he knew Korra could still beat the crap out of him, and he wasn't ready to tangle with her yet.

At this point, Kyon was very scared. It was getting dark, and he needed to move very quickly to buy what he wanted before it got too dark to see and all the gangs began to drift out into the empty streets like a bunch of nocturnal animals.

Kyon started slowly jogging in the general direction of the center of the city. He knew from living in Republic City for 3 years where the best food was, for the cheapest price. Eventually, he slowed down to a walk, and was slightly puzzled by the lack of activity in the streets.

Kyon was walking down the main street of Republic City, so he expected someone to be walking, exercising on their patio or driving the newest Satomobile. But there was absolutely nothing. Barely a sound, no movement other than the wind rustling some trash on the side of the road, not so much as a whisper could be heard as night approached.

As Kyon reached the center of the city, he could see why. A gigantic stage had been set up in front of City Hall, and on the stage was an announcer with a gigantic map of the Earth Kingdom behind him. Each state was split up into different pieces, and while a large portion of the Earth Kingdom in the North and West were not filled in, the Southern portion was practically done with.

"People of Republic City! What you see behind me is our best assumption at where Kuvira is right now. As you can see, she has become a monster, completely obliterating any resistance in her path. Those states that haven't chosen willingly to be a part of her empire…".

The announcer let the sentence hang in the air. He tugged at his collar and drew in a sharp breath, as if he was truly appalled at what was happening in the Earth Kingdom. His green and gold suit had Earth Kingdom pins tacked all over it, and he brushed some of them as his hand moved around his torso, grabbing at handkerchiefs, tugging at his collars and adjusting the microphone in front of him.

"No survivors!" he bellowed. "That is what Kuvira wants for the Earth Kingdom. Either you join or you die. Well, no longer! Now, she has a worthy rival to contend with: Our very own Jian! He has gathered support in the surviving states to defend against Kuvira's army, but he'll need your help! Spread the word to whomever you can, and let's stop the tyranny that may one day be knocking at our doorsteps!"

The crowd began to cheer, and Kyon saw that they were almost exclusively earthbenders or from the Earth Kingdom. Their green and gold clothing made a wave in the crowd as they portrayed their enthusiasm for the survival of their nation in the wildest of manners.

Kyon was so enthralled with the announcer and the scene before him that he didn't even notice the falling of the sun and the gang members who crept up behind him. It took a gust of air against his neck for him to whirl around and face them head on. The trio of tall and muscular men wielding weapons seemed way too cocky, even for normal triad standards.

"I see you liked the show," the largest one rumbled, stepping forward as the leader of the squad. "If you want, we got more … _information_ in the back. Just follow us." The one on the right reached out for Kyon's bicep. Just before he touched Kyon's clothes, the boy heated up his skin as if he would firebend, but nothing happened. Then, just as the man's hand grazed the sleeves of Kyon's jacket, he screamed, pulling his hand away as if he'd been burnt, which he had, in a sense.

Both of the other men drew their weapons, afraid of what Kyon could possibly do without even touching the wailing man. Taking advantage of their confusion, Kyon jumped on top of one guard, hitting him repeatedly in the face with his glowing fists. Not a single fireball erupted from his hands, but the muscle man was clearly in pain, repeatedly screaming until his voice went hoarse.

The last man, the one who had tried to get Kyon to go backstage, was now clearly frightened, despite the fact that he held a spiked mace in his hand. Looking between his weapon and Kyon's fiery outline, he decided to take his chances and swung his considerable weapon with considerable strength at Kyon's less than considerable frame.

It was to no avail. All the man saw was blue fire, melting through the mace like butter as the boy in front of him held it. The blue fire started creeping up the handle, licking at the man's fingers, scarring them. Without a moment's thought, the man recovered enough of his senses to barrel straight into an alleyway, no doubt to tell some of his friends about the scary blue firebending boy who could have been no older than 13.

Kyon looked at the two unconscious men around him, and began to sprint away from them, hoping to the gods above that this horrible evening would not end with him being beaten for not getting any food.

* * *

Over an hour after he first left, Kyon stumbled into Korra's dingier apartment with a plastic bag full of snacks and some vegetables. Korra took one look at the bag and tossed out the vegetables immediately, before she noticed how haggard Kyon's breath had become. "What's wrong? Can't run a little bit with some more weight on your legs?" she teased.

Kun slumped down into the only other chair in the room, and between heavy breaths, tried to narrate the story of how he was caught in some sort of protest rally, was jumped by three members of some obscure gang and developed the ability to heat up his skin just by concentrating, all in one go.

Korra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So what you're saying is, you set a stadium on fire just by concentrating because it was filled with gang members?" Kyon threw his head back and groaned. "I'm just kidding," Korra quickly said. "I got the story, I'm just amazed at what you did. Guess I'm a better teacher than I thought."

Kyon smiled. "I guess you are."

THE END

 **Make sure to be ready tomorrow for the next chapter of _The Desire for Honor_. Luckily for me (and you guys), I can't write action scenes, but I can write dramatic and intense scenes, and there's going to be a lot of that tomorrow. See you for now!**


	4. Chapter 3: Recruitment for War

**Hello all. This is the fourth day of my 5 day long fanon posting spree. Today's chapter that I'm updating is _The Avatar's Apprentice_. This also means that I just uploaded two chapters for the same story in one week, making this the first story that I did this for. Unfortunately, this record won't last, as it will be matched tomorrow by _The Desire for Honor_. **

**Just a small warning before you read: There are some scenes of horror that will be evident in the last section of the story. I don't think its too bad, but for those with an active imagination, you might want to be cautious.**

 **Otherwise, I hope you enjoy.**

THE AVATAR'S APPRENTICE  
CHAPTER 3: RECRUITMENT FOR WAR

Korra's opponent swayed on her feet, evidently worn out from the long fight. Korra breathed heavily, not feeling any better. The constant barrage of attacks from Korra shocked her opponent, who was more prepared for a longer, more drawn - out battle, which was the style that Korra usually used. However, just because this fighter was the most dangerous in the tournament, she had to be aggressive from the start.

Korra pounced, dragging along a snake of rocks from the ground. With one uppercut, her opponent was thrown off of her feet and slammed into the arena wall with a sickening crunch. Korra wearily raised her fist above her head, not even noticing her injuries. Her eyes locked on Kyon in the crowd, enjoying front - row seats as a friend of Korra's.

The arena was quiet for just a second, followed immediately by thundering applause and a standing ovation. Korra, the newcomer, would be taking on the longest reigning tournament champion in Republic City, the feared Masked Marauder.

Kyon had heard his name bandied about in the most obscure alleys of Republic City. A deadly fighter, he used absolute earthbending brutality to crush his opponents. Learning their moves instantly, and applying them in his own technique, the Marauder had not lost a single tournament, and his bending was unparalleled in the city.

Korra stumbled into her preparation room, while her opponent was dragged out of the arena. Kyon ran up to her and hugged her. "Congratulations, Korra! I told you that you should have switched up your style. Look at what happened!"

Korra tousled Kyon's hair. "Yeah, you were right," she admitted. "But I do have a challenge ahead of me, don't I?" Kyon punched Korra in the shoulder, admonishing her quickly. "How about we not think of that? Let's just get home, and celebrate."

Korra quickly agreed, certainly needed a rest from her unorthodox match. She stumbled home, with Kyon in tow, and crashed onto the couch. Kyon tossed her some snacks, something she loved to save as a celebration for post - match parties. For the next 10 minutes, Korra had the best dinner of her life, with Kyon having his own dinner on a plate.

Once Korra was done, she tossed away her plate and burped loudly, not even caring to turn away from Kyon. Both of them knew that manners weren't commonplace when they lived in the run down apartments on the edge of the city. Kyon finished quickly as well, and they sat down on the floor to do their accounting.

Ever since Korra entered herself in the tournament and began winning, they decided that somehow, they should move into some of the nicer apartments. Every single match, they would do their best to figure out how to get as much money from each match as possible.

Aside from the basic match fee, the orchestrators would pay the participants more money for special requests, such as "comeback" matches and winning within a specific time. The orchestrators themselves would bet money on these specific outcomes, and when they worked, they netted the participant in question quite a bit of money as well.

In this final round, Korra already had an advantage by being the newcomer. Firstly, she could analyze fights from her opponent, and switch up her style to counter that style. Additionally, the bets were stacked against her, meaning that if that fighting style switch worked, it would net her a lot of money even before the second cut.

All in all, she racked in over 10,000 yuan - her largest sum by far. Over 7,000 yuan came directly from the betting, a solid 35% of which were given to her. Korra finished counting the money, and sat down, out of breath. Kyon wrote some figures down on his pad, and whistled softly.

"With this haul, we have a total of 42,750 yuan. That's enough to get us a house in the center of the city - provided we didn't want to eat food for the next two weeks afterwards. I'd say that, if what I've heard is correct, then you can get 20,000 yuan by lasting 5 minutes against the Masked Marauder. If you beat him, then we get 50,000 yuan. Even if you don't, we'll have enough to live comfortably in one of the better housing developments in Republic City."

After his monologue, Korra sat back, thinking intently. She sat there, in the same position without moving for over 5 solid minutes. Kyon waited for her to respond, maybe with joy, or at the very least surprise, but when she didn't respond, he waved his hand in her face and called out, "Korra? You still there? Take a trip into the Spirit World?"

Korra finally moved, shaking her head. "You know, I sometimes wonder how you know all of this. You're a thirteen year old kid, you've been living alone in Republic City for 3 years, you can handle yourself well and you even know firebending and how to generate lightning. I can't imagine another kid your age going through things like that and still being sane, let alone live with the Avatar. I don't know anything about your past, and I think I've earned the right to now, especially after 6 months of living with you."

Kyon sighed heavily, and it oddly reminded Korra of Tenzin. Instantly, she saw the similarities between the two. Kyon moved back until his back rested against the couch. "I guess I should come clean. Let me begin by giving you a little bit of background for me and my family. My father's an earthbender, straight out of the heart of Ba Sing Se. He left home to be with my mother, a firebender who lived on Ember Island."

"I was born two years after they married. They were a bit older than most parents, but they were better benders. We settled down in Republic City, which is where I lived for the first 8 or so years of my life. Then, Amon started gaining power in Republic City. My father tried desperately to stop the invasion, working with Chief Beifong to quell the intruders, but while he was focused on the borders of the city, someone had broken into my house and taken my mother. Obviously, her bending was taken away, but I don't even know where she is now."

"From then on, my father tried to support me, while dealing with his grief. It took us a while, but we got over my mother's kidnapping, and life went on as normal as possible. Then, out of nowhere, one day a gigantic dark human came out of the sky and landed in the bay. He was obviously trying to destroy the city, but a blue giant followed him and defeated him. I didn't know who it was at the time, but after knowing your story, I figured out that it was you."

"My father decided that Ba Sing Se was a better place for us to stay, since he felt that Republic City wasn't safe. Also, our house almost got destroyed in the blast, and he didn't want to put me in that kind of trouble again. So we sold all of our belongings, my father quit his job with the police, and we went to Ba Sing Se. He avoided his family because he felt ashamed for abandoning them 10 years ago, especially towards his mother. We thought that we could live a better life."

"Unfortunately, we were wrong. I had just turned 10 when the Red Lotus killed the Earth Queen and let anarchy loose in Ba Sing Se. In the ensuing conflicts and riots, the city was nearly burned down, and my father was separated from me. I decided that the only thing that I could do was go back to Republic City, since I knew it better than any other city on the planet. I was living here for 3 years when you met me. I guess you could say that I get attracted to your conflicts."

By the end, Korra was in tears. She slowly moved over to Kyon and, without a word, and completely unexpectedly, hugged him. Kyon was taken aback, but hugged Korra in return. Korra began to sob. "I'm so sorry," she choked out. Kyon almost began to cry himself, she was so moving.

Korra whispered against his ear, "I've lost many friends on my journey. I had to give them up just to be here on my own. But our pasts are so similar that we are bonded forever."

"Uhhh…"

Korra held the hug for a few more seconds, but, seeing Kyon was slightly uncomfortable, Korra got up quickly, and jerked Kyon to his feet. "Enough of this sappy stuff," she admonished, Kyon didn't know to him or to herself. "Today's a day to celebrate, and I'm not the Avatar if I can't treat you to some authentic Southern Water Tribe cuisine."

Kyon smiled, and retorted, "I know just the place."

* * *

30 minutes later, a very full Korra and Kyon stumbled out of Kimana's Killer Krabfest, spelled incorrectly on purpose, with at least a pound and a half of seafood in each of their guts. Kyon patted his stomach, and let out a huge burp. "You know I won that bet," he groaned.

Korra shook her head, trying to keep her food down. "No way," she complained. "I downed at least a whole extra crab than you." Kyon grinned, some meat still stuck between his teeth. "You forget, I'm younger and smaller than you. The fact that I managed to get even close to how much you ate kind of says something, doesn't it?"

Korra stifled a belch, and began hiccuping. Kyon almost fell over from laughter, which made him start hiccuping. Before long, the both of them were nearly choking on their own food as they laughed and hiccuped in tandem.

They were so busy with their hysterics, they didn't notice the man that crept up behind them. However, he didn't try and attack them, and rested a mammoth hand on their shoulders. Both Korra and Kyon leapt around to face him, their stomachs groaning in protest.

The man laughed, a deep rumbling that reminded them of thunder. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." From his pocket, he pulled out a misshapenly folded piece of paper with a symbol of a circle with an asterisk inside of it. He handed them the paper. "I can see you two are intelligent people." Korra scrunched her eyebrows, and Kyon struggled to contain another giggle. "Our leader is trying to help bring about what he calls 'The Convergence'. Any supporters are greatly appreciated." The main hulked back into the shadows when he finished his speech.

Korra and Kyon relaxed, and took a look at the paper. Below the symbol painted messily onto the paper, in black words were written "THE CONVERGENCE", with some incoherent writing below it. The hour of arrival was 10:00 pm, or about 3 hours from their current time.

Korra clenched the paper, crumpling it up. "Come on, let's go work this dinner off, and then we check it out. It's in a few hours anyway." Kyon nodded, and the two of them started walking quickly to their apartment, slowly growing into a jog as they neared and then into a full out sprint about 500 meters away.

* * *

The paper, although crumpled, still could show the location of the rally. It was well over onto the other side of the city, near the western border of the city. Korra and Kyon jogged the distance in only 20 minutes, the both of them becoming faster and fitter from their constant activities.

When they finally reached the rally, they were shocked to find that the entire room in which the rally was being held was packed to the roof. People were watching from the ceilings of apartments around them, and even the open courtyard in which the stage was set was completely filled with people. Korra estimated that there were close to 300 people there.

Onstage, a man climbed up. Tall, thin, and wearing all brown clothing, Korra could only guess his age. He could have been anywhere from 18 to 55, depending on an infinite number of factors. His hair was tousled, looking much like Kyon's after Korra had a go at him. He was wearing completely black armor, looking much like the armor of a soldier.

His calling card was his right arm. Instead of a full, human arm, he simply had a stump ending right past his shoulder bone. Behind him were three trapdoors, that were simply waiting to be opened.

The man raised his arm and clenched his fist. Immediately the crowd began to roar, even louder than their chatter previously. The man went to the side of the stage and picked up a microphone stand that he placed in the center of the stage, in front of where he was standing. He tapped the microphone twice, before beginning his speech.

"By now, you must all know who I am. My name is Jian. I have been a strong opponent of Kuvira's endless domination in the south of the Earth Kingdom. But each and every state that I pleaded to take caution refused to listen to me. They thought I was a lunatic, and that the loss of my arm was nothing more than an accident, and had driven me crazy." He paused. "Not one of those states is free today."

Korra was already gripped by Jian's story. He continued onwards with the tale. "No one listened to me, of course, until I came here. Here, there were others with the same stories as myself. Some had lost houses, others families, and finally some had lost limbs, like myself. Once they began to listen, I knew that I would need an army to defeat Kuvira myself. And today, I might be able to achieve that goal."

With a wave of his arm, the trapdoors opened, and three men in green and silver armor those up, tied to poles, but still upright. Each one of them were a part of Kuvira's army. And each one of them had lost a limb. The closest man to the center of the stage had lost his leg, and was balancing on one leg. The man next to him had lost an arm, and was tied to the pole by his torso.

The final man was missing both his arms, but unlike the other two, they looked freshly cut. Blood stained two towels attached to the stumps of his shoulders. His eyes darted frantically around, and he looked his he was frightened out of his mind, but he didn't make a sound. His chest heaved, and he strained at his bonds, but not a sound left his mouth.

Jian spread his arm at the soldiers. "These are all soldiers of Kuvira's. They have looted villages, burned houses, destroyed livelihoods and ripped families apart. They are monsters. They signed up with Kuvira the moment that they destroyed their first village. They have chosen this path. And this is where their path has lead them."

Jian gestured offstage, and everyone's eyes moved to where a man walked up the stage with a robotic arm. Korra's pupils dilated, as she realized what it was for, and Kyon looked at her, wide - eyed.

Jian gripped the robotic arm with his left arm, and placed it directly under his right arm. Tendrils of fibers reached up, out of the arm itself, and fastened themselves to his shoulders. Jian threw his head back and let out a scream that sounded almost inhumane. The arm fixated itself to Jian's shoulder, and began testing itself, rotating each joint.

Jian crouched forward, and then stood up again. "I apologize for that," he panted. "It has not been tested yet, and I volunteered myself as the first subject. It appears to be working…perfectly."

Jian raised his right arm. "I have granted myself, with this arm, the power to take away someone's free will. Unfortunately, the prerequisite for doing so is to remove a limb, or a large part of someone's body, in order to allow the substance within the arm to penetrate the brain and replace the section dedicated to that one body part. Of course, this would work fine for me, and I can, as the arm is a part of me, use this power to my will. And I will do so today."

Korra turned down and whispered to Kyon, "We're going. No arguments." Kyon was breathing heavily, and began to look extremely scared. "None here." Slowly inching backwards, Korra tried to move quickly, before Jian committed the horrendous act.

Jian was still speaking in front of them. "With this new invention, we shall be able to defeat Kuvira's forces, and muster up an army to do our bidding. With every single capture, there will be more added to my personal army."

With that said, he stretched out his robotic arm and clamped it onto the first man's head. Steam began to emanate from the robotic arm, and it entered the man through his nose, mouth, ears and even through the gaps in his eyes. He began to scream, a chilling scream even more primal than what Jian had previously emitted. Within a matter of seconds, it was over, and he slumped forward against his bonds, unable to take the damage.

Jian turned back to the audience. "It works, my friends. We have just sealed Kuvira's fate, and the fates of our families. We shall prevail."

Korra and Kyon were backing up to the very edge of the crowd, staring directly at Jian the whole time. But before they could make it out, what Jian said next absolutely halted them.

"Now, of course, there are some dissidents in the crowd, obviously. When I said before that we would muster up an army, I did not mean it had to be done willingly. As some of you are now realizing, you will be my new army. You will all be subjected to the same mind control that this man has just had, and you will all bow down to me. Guards!"

Just before Korra and Kyon could make the final step to leave the courtyard, they bumped into a gigantic human being, one that grabbed the both of them by the arms and dragged them back into the crowd. Men were speeding through the crowd, snapping bracelets onto everyone's arms. Those who already had a bracelet began screaming as the smell of ozone filled the air, and they dropped to the ground, electrocuted and unconcsious.

Korra and Kyon tried to avoid the men, but they sped by Kyon and Korra quickly, snapping bracelets. Furiously trying to remove them, the pair were too late, and the last thing that the both of them remembered before passing out was the crackle of electricity that arced through the crowd, over Jian's howling laughter.

THE END

 **As said, the end was kind of bad, and I didn't enjoy writing it, but there had to have been some way that Jian scared the living crap out of Korra and Kyon, and mind control was the best way I could think of.**

 **That's all for now. See you tomorrow with the last day in this week long spree, with a chapter from _The Desire for Honor_. **


	5. Chapter 4: Jian's Prison

**This is the 4th Chapter in _The Avatar's Apprentice_ , and it's quite a big one. If you've been used to a couple thousand word chapters, please be prepared for a 5,000 word read that I didn't mean to make. **

**I had to cut out some of the stuff I wanted to for future chapters, but I still couldn't pare it down. So forgive me. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

THE AVATAR'S APPRENTICE  
CHAPTER 4: JIAN'S PRISON

As bad as Korra's life probably was right now, Kyon's was probably worse.

And that was saying a lot. Because of her outgoing and fun - loving personality, she had nearly beaten to death every guard that tried to restrain her following their plunge into the sewers of Republic City. Naturally, a good deal had to fall before someone decided to electrocute the violent young girl. She had the sense to keep continuous and only use her earthbending, lest someone recognize her from the arenas, but had she been able to waterbend, she would have won just based on the smell of the pungent water.

Now, Korra was chained up in one of the many cells underground. There were dozens of rows and dozens of columns, almost like a gigantic underground bunker, designed to contain, train and exterminate for Jian's purpose.

The cell itself was cramped. Barely large enough for Korra's lanky limbs, she could barely stand in the cell, and the bars were too thick to fit her arms through the gaps. The cells had a hook on the top that was attached to some metal rope. The rope was then attached to a gigantic system of pulleys, levers and rolling parts that could lift specific individual cages, or select a whole group of cages to be taken in.

Once a day, the cages were lifted up slightly, and one of the cages was chosen to be taken. Only once had a group of cages been taken at once, but the day before they were, Korra had noticed a medley of arguments in that section of the prison with the guards. Coincidence? Probably not, she replied to herself, mulling it over.

Luckily for her own sanity, Kyon was right next to her, allowing her to not only talk with him but also share food with. On Korra's left, an old man was caged. He was barely functioning, and couldn't move his limbs except for his right hand, but he could talk, and his conversations moved all those near them together so that they could hear his adventures. Korra feared for the day she was taken, but she feared even more for the day that either of her friends was taken.

* * *

Kyon couldn't tell how long he'd been in the cell for. He measured his time by when they fed him, and he'd had 14 meals of just peas, potatoes and a cup of water on a plastic try thus far. Each meal was separated by a few hours of separation torture, not able to talk unless a guard was not in the area, which was quite rare.

A smaller person than Korra, Kyon could actually stand up in the cell without his hair brushing the ceiling. He spent most of his time remaining active, doing push - ups and sit - ups in order to keep his slim and fit shape. He wouldn't dare try to firebend, however, for fear that he would be one of the unlucky few taken away.

It was the morning of the 15th meal when Kyon first talked to Korra.

"You up?" His voice felt hoarse after its lack of use.

All he could see was Korra's muscled back, but she made no indication that she heard. Kyon tried once more. "Psst! Korra! Wake up!" he whispered through the bars of the cage. The separation between cages was only a meter, so Kyon knew that Korra heard him, if she was awake. Before Kyon called again, he heard the monotonous clinking of the guard's boots.

The guard made his rounds, walking in between the rows and glancing at the cages with little interest. He'd been doing this for so long that he knew the prisoners would be quiet and not make a scene. If they tried to escape, he had some sticks of electricity, issued to him by Jian himself. And if they tried to escape, the rest of the sewers were a labyrinth of tunnels that no one had left. It was designed to be their last place of sentient memory.

Kyon waited until the clinking of the boots was much farther down the row, which was hard to determine as the echo made it seem much louder than normal. He tried once more. "Korra, are you up?"

Before he could react, Korra whirled around and lay on her side, facing Kyon for the first time. "Next time, take a hint," she hissed, portraying much more anger than she would have in the situation. Her face relaxed then, softening into a smile, and she almost giggled.

"Are you okay?" The question made Kyon visibly relieved as he replied, "That's exactly what I was about to say." Korra put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, which was odd, considering their current predicament. Trying to calm himself, Kyon continued, "We have to find a way out of here."

Immediately the tension returned and the happiness was sucked out of the room. Korra's face hardened, and Kyon could see her fist tightening against the metal bars. He thought she was willing to rip it out.

The words then came out of her mouth, and Kyon had never been more relieved in his life. "I have a plan."

* * *

Between the long hours from meal to meal, Korra spent her time stretching in her cage, planning on ways to escape, scratching out the number of meals on the bottom of her cage, and talking to the other prisoners near her. The timing had to be exquisite, and the guards had to be on their break, and everyone had to be awake at the same time, but the three times it happened, it was magical.

The first time, Korra was talking across the row, a dangerous, foolhardy and completely nut - brained idea. The person across the aisle from her was a middle - aged man, well built, and much too large for the cage. He had a tattoo of a chain wrapping around his right arm, and his tattered black clothes indicated that he had been here for a long time.

Korra, like always, initiated the conversation, an icebreaker being how long he'd been in the cage. "Can't tell the time in here," came the gruff reply. "But, if you want to know how many meals I've been eating, it's close to 200."

Chuckling at Korra's awestruck expression, the man calmed her down. "I haven't been here the longest, but I am the only person who's not been taken. All my friends who came here with me have either been killed, turned into soldiers for Jian's prison, or disappeared, all of which I'm sure are the same thing. The name's Rajo, by the way, courtesy of the Fire Nation."

Stammering, Korra tried to expunge her name from her lips, but she was too tongue - tied to say it. "I"m - My name's - I'm called - Kor - Katara." The switch of the names in the center was because she didn't want to reveal her identity: The large majority of the world thought that she was still in the Southern Water Tribe. The guilt of tricking her full friends and family crashed down on her once again.

"Named after the famous waterbender, I see? You from the Southern Water Tribe?" Korra nodded absently.

Snapping back to reality, Korra realized that Rajo hadn't stopped talking. "The way I see it, these crazies take people at random, but they factor in how long you've been here. For some, it's quick, but the ones that they let live, it's just to torture them even more. But, the more trouble you're in, and the more pain you cause them, the quicker you are to go."

"This whole thing was built by this architect they found in the streets who was poor and really needed money. This is all I overhear from the guards, but apparently, he got stuck down here after he taught Jian how to use the whole place. Plus, he was a part - time inventor and an electrician, so he figured out how to properly use the robotic arm that Jian uses to control people. That whole setup that you probably saw onstage? Complete act. They were already long gone by the time they were chosen as his volunteers."

A loud bell clanged throughout the room. The bell was used to signify when they would be fed, and its irregularity made consistency a real pain. That was why everyone counted time by the number of their meals.

Rajo tilted his head at the sound of the bell. "That's my cue," he joked. "In all seriousness, I hope we get out of here, at least before the better people in here get their brains sucked out. Good talk, even though all you contributed was a stuttered name, Katara."

The guards were quick to distribute the food, and Korra had to jerk her head away from the direction of Rajo, so she couldn't reply, but she promised that she would do it the second she got the chance.

* * *

The next time she was able to talk, Korra chose the old, paralyzed man on her left. As far as she could tell, he was in his late seventies, so what he was doing down here was anybody's guess. His right hand was somewhat functional, but he couldn't walk or move his arms, so he had to be fed by the guards or by another prisoner, if the guards were feeling slightly generous or lazy.

This time, it was at night, and Korra was trying to sleep. She kept on hearing some metallic noises coming from his cage, but when she turned over, she saw his hand grabbing at screws and nails near him. His food was untouched, the guard's way of mocking him sometimes. Korra looked around her, but there were no guards. Luckily for her, and for the old man next to her.

A quick wisp of air from her fingers lifted the bowl of rice. The old man stopped moving, and his eyes widened as the bowl slowly came closer to his mouth. "Just let me know when you want me to go," Korra gasped, the words escaping through her clenched teeth. His right hand jerked upwards, and Korra manipulated the bowl to tip some rice into his mouth.

This continued for 15 minutes. Even Korra was surprised that no guards had come close to their cages to see the airbending. Once the bowl was empty, Korra repeated the act with the water. Finally, when all the food was gone, Korra stopped, exhausted and drained, and sat with her back to the bars of her cage, facing the old man.

"Thank you." The first words out of the man's mouth were hoarse and rough, but they had a tone of kindness, something Korra didn't expect to hear underground in a cage. "I appreciate your act. Not many would do the same, especially if they were the Avatar."

Korra nodded and lay her head back against the bars, exhaling loudly. "I have many questions of my own," the man continued. "However, those questions will not help us leave this place. And so, I will give you information that I hope will help you escape." Korra's eyes flashed open. She leaned forward and scrambled towards his cell, not saying a word.

The old man sighed. "I was the architect and mechanic that created this hellish place. I was promised money and fame, but all I received was hatred and a taste of my own medicine. I was electrocuted, paralyzed and then stuck down here, left to rot until the day I was sent in for amputation and then mind control."

"Once your cage is picked up, you're taken into a room designed to keep you in it. High security protection, guards with tasers, electric prods, guns and some benders as well. Once you're in, the drug they apply will keep you knocked out for up to a whole day, and then they amputate your arm. Completely healthily, of course. You'll wake up with no recollection of your past life, and controlled by a sadistic puppeteer who wants control of the Earth Kingdom."

Just as before, the man quickly silenced himself at the sound of the guard's boots clinking close to their cages. "Use that information any way you can," he snuck in before collapsing what limbs he could to the ground. Korra quickly dropped herself to the ground as well, and as she heard the guard walk past her cell, a plan began to build itself from the information she had gathered.

* * *

"Hey! Are you going to feed me or what?"

A loud ringing began to emanate from Korra's cell the next day, her boots remaining her most effective weapon that was not her bending. She continued the yelling and the clanging until a guard begrudgingly walked over to her to calm her down, a hand on his electric prod.

"Calm down there, ma'am," he intoned, staying quite polite and reasonable considering his powerful position as the guard with the ability to electrocute her. Completely ignoring his attempt to subdue her, Korra rattled the bars of her cell again. "I know you can hear me! It's been 6 hours; and I'm entitled to food!"

The guard shrugged and waited for orders, looking into the corner of the rig where his captain stood. A slow nod earned him a smile, and he reached by his hip, where a nightstick about three feet long was attached. Walking over to the door, he unlocked the cage door and stepped inside, not only to teach the upstart prisoner a lesson, but to use all necessary force to restrain her.

It would probably be the poorest decision in the guard's life, and the last time he would get into a cage with a dangerous earthbender. With his nightstick by his side, he charged the girl, trying to stop her from breaking anything.

Before he could even raise the nightstick, Korra sent a kick right into his chest. The guard was a stocky man, but even he was stumbling back into the cage door. His frame was enough to slam the door shut in such a way that it was completely bent out of shape, enough so that he couldn't leave.

The guard crashed down the floor of the cage, his neck snapping back as his chin connected with the hard metal. Groaning, the guard grasped his nightstick in his right hand. His hand hooked around the clasp of his belt, stuck conveniently in front so as to cause more damage when he fell. The cramps in his abdomen worsening, the guard shot to his feet, a nightstick in his right hand, the electric prod in his left and the belt on the ground.

Korra, on the other hand, was jumping back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her hands were halfway up her torso, slightly in front of her. She had the advantage of athleticism, agility and surprise. The guard was already hurt, but he did have weapons and the advantage of strength. One good hit from the prod, the nightstick or his fists, and she would be severely damaged.

The only problem was, the guard was not the smartest of fighters. The first thing Korra learned in the arena was: Never make the first move. It would make the defense and then counterattack much easier for the opponent. It didn't help the guard's chances that he was already disoriented and a poor fighter.

He charged forth, swinging both of his weapons at Korra. Easily sidestepping the poorly constructed attacks, Korra nailed an uppercut right under his defense and in his chin. His head snapped back, and the guard flailed his arms, completely incoherent in his agony.

At this point, a crowd began to gather around Korra's cell, not only of guards, but also prisoners. Everyone was interested in how Korra would defeat the guard, especially with her "disadvantage" of being unarmed and female. So far, they were pretty pleased with the results, even in the face of their comrade having his bones broken and his pride shattered.

Their reminiscence was broken when another series of clangs from the cell disrupted their thought process. Korra had punched the guard so hard in his mouth that several teeth had flew through the bars of the cell, landing on the stone floor with several small clinks. The guard himself had been propelled into the bars themselves, denting them in much the same way that he dented the cage door.

Dropping his nightstick, the guard grasped the slick bars of the cell in a measly attempt to lift himself up. Without letting him get too far, Korra ran in from the other end of the cage and delivered the final blow, a vicious kick into his kidney that, when taking into account the density of her boots, would leave him in serious pain for the large part of the next few weeks.

A low echo emanated from the cell as the guard's considerable unconscious mass slumped to the floor of the cell. Korra stood over his body, breathing heavily and sweating profusely, but victorious. With a flourish, Korra grabbed the unconscious guard and flung him out of the cell through the doors, earning another wince from the onlookers and a smile from Korra herself. She glanced over at Kyon, who witnessed the whole thing, and winked.

* * *

The very next day, Jian came for Korra.

Not personally, but as Korra's cage lifted up and she got a clear glimpse of the entire underground facility, she knew that it wasn't a coincidence she was chosen today. Disregarding the intense pressure that she was under right now, Korra calmed her heart rate, trying to keep herself composed for the finale.

Aside from her impending situation, Korra couldn't help but marvel at the acres of cages that were neatly arranged in rows and columns, with seemingly no identification at all, consistently punctuated by a pillar for stability. The only thing Korra could think about as she got closer to her impending death was how Jian was able to create such an extravagant bunker for so many with no one investigating.

Regardless of what Jian had done in the past, he was about to do something much more personal to Korra herself. She steeled her body and prepared for the instant the cage door was opened to strike. The cage directed itself towards a large compound, separated from the majority of the cells. There was a large hole in the top, obviously designed for a cage to fit through. As she began to lower, Korra's fingertips blazed with flame, and her muscles tensed up.

However, she certainly was not expecting a completely empty room, with nothing and no one in it. The cage door hadn't been opened yet, and Korra felt no need to blow it to pieces. The room felt alien for almost 10 minutes, until she heard the squeal of gas escape into the room.

Instantly, Korra dropped to the ground and tried to avoid the gas. Lunging forward, Korra ejected a flamethrower towards the door of the cage, burning the edges. She leaped through the human - sized hole and scrambled to the walls of the room as the gas descended to the ground. Korra tried to airbend the gas away, but even her prodigious skills couldn't block all of the gas. She descended into a dreamless sleep, not knowing whether she would wake up or not.

Fortunately, Korra woke up and found that she could move all of her limbs. Her neck was bent at an odd angle, which, while annoying and painful, meant that she wasn't dead. At least, she hoped she wasn't. When she tried to get up, however, her extremities were restrained by chains. She was lying face up on a cold metal table, and as her sight came back to her as well, she noticed she was in some sort of operating table.

A door creaked open behind her, and Korra hurt herself more trying to crane her neck to see who was entering the room. A chorus of boots against the steel floor meant that there was more than one person entering, and Korra's heart began to race like it never had before.

Jian entered her line of sight. Other scientists flowed in behind him, tapping vials and testing equipment, but even as Korra absorbed the scene, her attention was locked onto Jian. In person, he was even scarier, his face looking hard and crazed, with a glimmer in his eye that suggested he was not completely sane.

His arm was twitching with malfunctions, spasming back and forth, almost clawing Korra's flesh multiple times. His left arm tried to contain it's movement, but there was no stopping the mechanical failures that were occurring in his arm.

"Ah, the Avatar. I'm very pleased that I finally get to meet you."

Much like the rest of his personality, Jian's voice was much creepier and unsettling in person. "I was very surprised to hear that one of the best arena contenders is also the Avatar. Don't worry, I won't reveal your secret. I still have use for you yet. Besides, it gives me a bargaining chip, just in case I need it in the future."

He swept his arm around, gesturing at the frenzy of activity behind him. "As you can see, my scientists are completely prepared to remove a limb and attach one of my robotic arms to you. The Avatar, a part of my army," he mused, stroking his chin. Lost in thought, the silence of the room began to swirl Korra's head.

A snap of Jian's fingers brought Korra back to reality. "Oh, that reminds me. Just to be customary, and especially out of respect for the Avatar, I decided that you should get a choice on which limb you would like to lose. Will you lose your right arm, right leg? Make your choice now."

Korra gritted her teeth, more furious than disgusted at the way that Jian was casually talking about amputating her arms. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that her plan was falling apart at the seams. She spat into Jian's face, angry at herself for getting into this trap, _willingly_.

Jian barely flinched at the speck of spittle that landed on his cheek. Intentionally, using his left arm, he carefully wiped it away. "Looks like you've made your choice. Put her under!" The last sentence was shouted at the other scientists, one of whom picked up a gigantic needle and came forward towards Korra. She thrashed furiously in an attempt to escape, but the metal bands around her arms and legs held her in place. She tried breathing fire at the scientist, but he expertly dodged the blast. He had obviously had some training in dodging bending blasts.

He jammed the needle into Korra's arm, and she immediately began to feel the effects. Her movements slowed down, her tongue felt much thicker in her mouth, her skin began to feel numb and cold, and her eyesight had shrunken down to only what she focused on. Her energy leaving her, her consciousness slowly slipping away, the last thing Korra saw was Jian's sneer above her.

* * *

 _Zaheer stood in front of her on the edge of the cliff, with Ming - Hua and Ghazan on either side of him. The look on Zaheer's face was a paradoxical mix of his usual calmness and newfound rage that blazed just beneath the surface of his emotions._

 _Korra knew exactly what was about to happen. This exact same scene played out infinitely in her mind for the past 4 years, with her suspended from chains in the ceiling and unable to resist the slowly moving trail of poison, controlled by the metalbender safely hidden behind all of them._

 _The poison crept through the air towards Korra, and as it got closer, Korra did her best to try and avoid it. Her movements began to falter as she realized there was no way she was avoiding the poison. The memories began to appear in more vivid detail, as if the memories were sentient and wanted her to relive her torture as clearly as possible._

 _The nightmare - inducing process began. The poison entered her skin like a mite burrowing under her flesh, dispersing its foul package throughout her body. Korra could feel the poison's cold touch getting to all parts of her body, and she could only scream at the intense pain. It was both chilling and burning; marring her insides in more ways than she could imagine._

 _And before she knew it, the pain and the cold and the heat and the_ pain _were gone. All she could see was a bright light in front of her, burning away the images of Zaheer and Ming - Hua and Ghazan, shredding them to pieces until nothing was left…_

* * *

…but the inside of a dark cave. Korra's eyes flashed open, hungrily trying to make sense of the contents of the cave itself. She could feel the warmth of a fire nearby, as well as the wool of a blanket around her shoulders. Her mind still felt dazed, but when she understood what was going on within the cave, she wished she had stayed asleep.

Close to a hundred people milled, slept and talked within the gigantic cave. They all had some supplies, including food and toiletries. Korra's jaw slowly opened as she gazed upon the size of the operation that was being held, even more so when she realized that Kyon was leading the effort.

Not only was Kyon doing his best to evenly distribute supplies, but he was assigning jobs, taking charge of the group and trying to keep them all together, bonded in the face of trauma. Korra was surprised at how easily Kyon was taking charge, trying to make sure that everyone was working and that no one was excluded, from supplies or work.

She got up, letting the blanket rest on her shoulders as she walked over to him. He was in deep discussion with the other experienced prisoners, trying to formulate a plan of action going forward. He cut himself off as he saw Korra stumbling towards them, weak but awake.

Korra suddenly found herself engulfed in a hug by Kyon, whose eyes were leaking tears. "I'm so glad you're alive," he whispered, and Korra could tell that he really meant it. She looked up to see other prisoners mouthing their thanks as well. After a few minutes, she extracted herself from the hug, and asked a straight and simple question, one that she'd been dying to ask since she realized that she wasn't under Jian's control. "How did you get out?"

That was the perfect extinguisher to all of the smiles in the cave. Kyon took a deep breath. "I knew something was wrong when there weren't sounds of explosions, of fighting. So, I distracted the guards with a 'through the grapevine' technique, taking them far away from my cage, and I busted out."

"I knew I couldn't break into the fortified compound on my own, so I basically set a bunch of people free and we, in turn, started a chain - reaction of a prison - break. Soon, nearly everyone was out of their cages and we decided to mount an attack on the compound. We searched every single room trying to get to you, and when we did, we found you close to being amputated. We rescued you, but we couldn't get Jian or any of his scientists. After that, it was just a matter of some earthbenders making a gigantic cave for us, and we also were able to get some supplies from the guard stations."

Korra stumbled back and laid down again, too tired to comprehend everything that had happened. Excusing himself from the discussion, Kyon jogged over to her and sat down. "Look, I know you're tired right now, but I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. You went in there to save everyone, and nearly died. I know that you're the Avatar, and you're supposed to do these things, but I just want you to know I'm glad you're alive, even after that."

Korra nodded, and sunk her body into Kyon's, who felt strangely out of place. For the past year since he'd known Korra, she'd always been the rock in his life. She could take anything, and deal it back in full. He'd received bruises and broken bones from this very fact. But he had never been put into a position where he was the one comforting her. Any attempt to do so had been sharply refuted by Korra when she knuckled him or when they played rough. But now, she surrendered willingly.

He was getting much more worried. He waited a few minutes until she began to snore again, her body succumbing to her increasing fatigue, and laid her down. Quietly getting up, he went over to Rajo, the man who had helped Korra out with her plan. "I'm going to scout the area. Wait an hour for me, and if I'm not back, then send a couple of people out to look," he whispered. Rajo nodded curtly, and went back to arranging sleeping areas for everyone. Sleep was vital for everyone at the moment.

Kyon slunk out of the cave into the terrace outside of the cave. It faced the sea, away from Republic City and was set in one of the alcoves where no fishermen went because of the dangerous rock cliffs. Kyon scrambled along the rocks until he got to the outskirts of the city, near where the swamp connected with the city's footpaths. He ran into the swamp, not to scout, but for a very different purpose.

THE END

 **I really hope you enjoyed this chapter; it took me a long time to make.**

 **I would just like to say that I really appreciate the amount of support I've been getting for the past few months, even when I was inactive in December. It really means a lot.**


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